‘Balloon Lady’ show concludes reading program at North Davidson Library

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 2:31 PM

Donna Pruett, otherwise known as “The Balloon Lady,” presented a science-themed performance Friday to conclude the North Davidson Public Library’s Summer Reading Program.

BY DAVID EXUMThe Dispatch

WELCOME | Donna Pruett, otherwise known as “The Balloon Lady,” presented a hilarious science-themed performance Friday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church to conclude the North Davidson Public Library’s Summer Reading Program for preschoolers and school-age children.Cheers, laughter, screams and a bit of useful knowledge about the history of balloons and balloon crafting were all part of Pruett’s performance. She even taught the children about the worldwide helium shortage.After welcoming the children into her make believe laboratory, Pruett began her performance by creating three types of science fiction balloon monsters — Frankenstein, an eye-ball monster and a scary ghost — as the song “Monster Mash” played on her boom box.Her first balloon experiment involved inserting a large needle coated with vegetable oil through a balloon. Miraculously, the balloon didn’t pop because the oil creates a seal between the needle and the balloon. Another experiment involved a balloon, a small plastic water bottle, baking soda and white vinegar. After mixing the baking soda and white vinegar in the water bottle, Pruett inserted the balloon around the top of the bottle, and within seconds the balloon expanded to full size. Although that experiment failed the first time, the children applauded greatly the second time.“We did it, kids. It works, it works,” Pruett enthusiastically said.Pruett also made a gigantic spider and her own yo-yo balloon. She also made a rocket balloon that she shot into the audience. To conclude her performance, Pruett created her very own Bluegrass musical group complete with Bluegrass musical instruments made from balloons. She then picked children from the audience to play the balloon instruments. Before the performance, school-age librarian Geraldine Byerly said she had 116 participants and 25 teens register in June for the science-themed summer reading program. Byerly and children’s librarian Jessica Howell had a total of 300 children register for the program.“We feel that this summer’s reading program was very successful,” Byerly said. “The children really enjoyed the science part of the reading program.”During the five-week reading program, which met at the library each Tuesday and Thursday, the librarians conducted their own experiments to teach children the importance of science. The well-known Mentos and soda experiment that creates a volcano was one of the experiments, another was creating elephant toothpaste. “We even made slime,” Byerly said.Each week also had a particular science theme: water/weather, bubbles, beaker experiments, five senses of the human body, robots and animals/plants. Children also used time logs to record the reading they did during the five-week period. Children would either color or cross out a symbol for each 15-minute block of time they read. The 10 squares on the time log each contained four, 15-minute blocks. Children were given small prizes for different intervals of reading.“The children loved seeing the science experiments,” Howell said. Howell also said children who participate in public library reading programs during summer vacation benefit greatly.“A lot of children are at different reading levels and this kind of program helps them keep up,” Howell said. “We have even seen children advance in their reading proficiency. It also gets them exposed to using the library.”

David Exum can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at dave.exum@the-dispatch.com. Follow David on Twitter: @LexDisptachExum